Ragi korakattai

I'm trying to mix up the cereals in our diet, and my new favourite is ragi flour. These steamed dumplings are similar to the savoury korakattai made with rice flour, and I absolutely love them because they can be rustled up in a jiffy and taste really good. 

I use only half the indicated quantity of jaggery, but this is the original recipe. 

1 cup ragi flour

1/2 cup grated coconut 

1/2 cup grated jaggery

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

A pinch of salt

3 tbsp water

Method:

Mix the dry ingredients together (keeping aside 1 tbsp coconut), add water gradually to make a firm dough. 

Roll into lemon sized balls and press into an oval shape. 

Steam in a steaming plate or an idli maker for 10 minutes. 

Garnish with coconut and sugar before serving. 

Oil free karela

Karela always uses a lot of oil, so when I saw a version of karela which didn't use any oil, I was tempted to try it out. It tasted really good, though the kids refused to eat it on principle. 

250 gms karela

2 tbsp salt

For stuffing:

2 tbsp besan 

2 tbsp grated coconut

1 tsp jaggery, grated

1 tsp garam masala powder

1 tsp amchur powder

1/2 tsp haldi powder

1/2 tsp rock salt/ regular salt

Method:

Scrape the skin off the karela, make a longitudinal slit and remove the seeds. Coat with the salt and keep aside for 15 minutes. Squeeze the karela slightly, and scrape off the salt. 

Mix the ingredients listed under 'for stuffing' well, and stuff into the karela. If there is a bit left over, rub it on the outer surface. 

Place the stuffed karela carefully on a steaming plate, making sure the slit end is facing upwards. Steam for 10 minutes till done. 

Ragi utappam

I am experimenting with different kinds of grains these days, and ragi is top of the list, since it was always there on my list. Ragi and coconut makes an awesome combination, and this proves it yet again!

1 cup ragi flour
1/3 cup grated coconut
A pinch of salt
Oil for frying

Method:
Mix the coconut and ragi flour well, and add water slowly, with constant stirring to get a firm batter. It should not be to runny, and there should be no lumps. Add salt and mix well. Let it stand for half an hour (or more)
Heat the utappam pan, and pour in the batter. Add a touch of oil around the edges. Let it cook on a low flame, till the edges start to rise up. Flip over and cook the other side.
Serve with white butter.

Oil free brinjal curry

Most people do not like baigan, and for a very long time, I was one of them. But even now, one of the things I have against baigan is the amount of oil it normally consumes. So I just had to try out this recipe which promised to use no oil, if only to see if it was even possible. And it was!!!!

With the mix of peanut, coconut, tamarind and curry leaves, it was almost reminiscent of a Konkan fish curry. Literally fingerlickingly good! And oil free to boot (how many more times am I going to say that?)

500 gms Brinjal*

For stuffing

1 cup peanuts

1/2 cup grated coconut

2 red chillies

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp urad dal

1 tsp haldi powder

Salt to taste

1 lime sized ball tamarind

1 sprig curry leaves

Method:

Roast the peanuts till slightly brown. 

Add jeera, dhania, red chilli, urad dal, and roast till urad dal is browned

Add coconut and roast till brown

Dry grind the mixture. Add the spices and salt and mix well

Slit the brinjal s crosswise, keeping the stems intact. Stuff with the mixture- you will not use all the masala, keep the rest aside. 

Place on a steamer and cook for 15 minutes. 

Meanwhile, heat 1/2 cup water, soak the tamarind and remove the pulp.

Boil 1/2 cup water, add the tamarind water, the ground masala, and curry leaves. Bring to boil. 

Add the brinjals, reduce flame, cover and allow it to simmer for 5 minutes. 

Serve with rotis or rice. 

* you can use any variety except the fat ones used for bharta. I used 250 gms of brinjal, and kept half the masala aside for another day. 

Ragi idiyappan

The packers seem to have lost an entire carton of kitchen equipment, so I had to go shopping for things as basic as kadhais, tawas and pressure cookers. Since this is the first time I have gone utensil shopping since I started cooking seriously, I ended up picking up a whole lot of stuff I never possessed, but which I now feel I cannot do without. One of them was the sevai maker (which can double up as a chakli maker), which I had to try out at once. I could have started with the conventional seat, but thought of making a ragi sevai instead. I've adapted the recipe so it tastes like ragi puttu, and we all loved it.

2 cups ragi flour

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups water

Grated coconut to taste

1 or 2 bananas

Oil for greasing

Additional equipment- idli steamer, sevai maker

Method:

Roast the ragi flour till the raw smell goes. Add salt and mix well. 

Gradually add water, mixing and kneading throughout, till you get a consistency thicker than dosa batter but looser than roti dough*. Knead a bit more, till smooth. 

Grease the idli maker and the inside of the sevai maker with a bit of oil. 

Fill the sevai maker with the dough, and pipe it onto the idli moulds.

Cut the banana into slices and place around and above the piped dough. 

Steam for 15 minutes. 

Carefully demould the idyappams, garnish with coconut (you can mix some sugar with it), and steamed bananas and serve. 

You can also enjoy idyappams with butter and sugar. 

*- I am not mentioning quantities, because the recipes I said 2:3, but i required only 1:1

Brinjal in peanut gravy

I love brinjal, and though my love is not shared by my family, I never tire of trying out new recipes. I got this one from a site which caters to recipes with little or no oil, but since my steamer is still missing, I ended up frying it. As far as I'm concerned, with peanuts and brinjal, you can't go too wrong. This recipe is proof of it.

Baby baingan - 12  nos

For stuffing:

1 cup peanuts

1/2 cup grated coconut

2 red chillies

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp urad dal

A few curry leaves

1 tsp haldi powder

1 tsp amchur powder

Salt to taste

1 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

Roast the peanuts till slightly brown. 

Add jeera, dhania, red chilli, urad dal, and roast till urad dal is browned

Add coconut and roast till brown

Dry grind he mixture. Add the spices and salt and mix well

Slit the brinjal s crosswise, keeping the stems intact. Stuff with the mixture.

Heat the oil, add curry leaves, and stuffed brinjal and saute for 5 minutes. 

Add the remaining masala, and sufficient water to cover the brinjals. Being to boil, cover, reduce the flame and allow it to simmer for 5 minutes. 

Serve hot with roti or rice. 

Vegan savoury cookies

LI am not a vegan, nor am ever likely to be, but I do have friends who are vegan- for ethical or health reasons- and once in awhile, I like trying out vegan dishes. This savoury cookie was one of them. No butter, no oil, no sugar. But pretty high on taste.

1 cup peanuts, roasted and cooled

1 cup desiccated coconut

1 cup wholewheat flour/ atta

1 small onion minced

1 tsp rock salt

1 tsp black pepper powder

1/2 tsp inactive yeast*

Method:

Grind together the peanuts and onions, with a little water, if necessary, to get a fine paste. 

Add yeast, pepper powder, coconut and salt, grind together. 

Add the flour, knead well. 

Make small balls, and flatten them. Place on a baking tray lightly dusted with flour. 

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. 

Sprinkle salt or sesame seeds on the cookies, and bake for 15 minutes. 

Can be stored for upto a week. 

*- make it inactive by heating slightly

Ragi puttu

XI recently bought a packet of ragi flour, and have been sold on the cereal so much, I've been using it everywhere. This is a recipe I found online, and since it has two other ingredients that I love, I decided to try it out for lunch. Definitely something I will make again.

 1/2 cup ragi flour

A pinch of salt

2-3 tbsp jaggery, rated

2-3 tbsp grated coconut for garnish

1/2 tsp ghee

Method:

Take ragi flour and salt in a soft cotton cloth, fold it with the flour inside and steam for 10-12 minutes or until you get a nice aroma of steamed ragi flour.

Spread the steamed ragi, add 4 tbsp water, 1 tbsp at a time, and mix well. There should be no lumps. 

Put the dough in a cloth, and steam for 10 minutes in an idli maker. 

Break it into a powder, add jaggery and coconut, mix well and serve. 

Capsicum subji

This is a dish I tasted in someone's lunchbox at work, and decided to replicate at home.

250 gms capsicum

1 small onion, chopped fine

3 tbsp roasted peanuts

3 tbsp grated coconut

1 tsp jeera

1 green chilli

1 tsp haldi powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

Salt to taste

1 tsp cooling oil

Method:

Deseed the capsicums and chop into inch size pieces. Bring 1 cup water to boil, add capsicum and blanch for 2-3 minutes. Drain and keep aside. 

Coarsely grind the peanuts and green chilli

Heat the oil, add jeera seeds. Once they stop spluttering, add onions and sauté till transparent. 

Add ground peanuts and coconut, with spices. Sauté till the raw smell goes. 

Add capsicum. Mix well and cook covered with constant stirring for 10 minutes. 

Nachani Ladoo

I was having lunch with a colleague and she told me about the various flours that are used in traditional Maharashtrian cooking. Ragi or nachani flour is apparently very high in calcium, and iron, and I was tempted to try out this simple recipe as soon as I heard about it. I loved it, but next time, I think I will go easy on the sesame seeds- it might just taste better without it.

1 cups ragi flour
¼ cup sesame seeds
¼ cup peanuts
¼ cup coconut
1/4 cup jaggery
2 tbsp ghee

Method:
Heat 1 tbsp ghee and fry the flour till you get a nice aroma of ragi. Set this aside to cool.
Dry roast peanuts, cool, remove the skin.
Dry roast sesame seeds, cool.
In a blender, powder together peanuts, sesame seeds and coconut.
Add the jaggery, and powder it well.
Add the flour and ghee, and mix well in the blender till the oil oozes from the mix.
Make balls while the mix is still warm. If needed add melted warm ghee and make balls.

Coconut cookies

I baked a batch of coconut cookies today because I was in a mood to do so. They were browned slightly more than they should have, but tasted really good.

200 (1 cup) gms maida
1 cup grated coconut
100 gms (1 cup) butter
100 gms (1 cup) granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp milk

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees
Mix the butter and sugar well, till it appears homogeneous.
Sieve the baking powder and flour together, and add to the butter-sugar mixture. Mix well so there are no lumps.
Add the coconut and knead to make a dough. If the dough does not come together, add upto 2 tbsp milk.
Grease baking tray with oil.
Divide the dough into 16 equal parts. Roll each into a ball, and press lightly.
Arrange on the baking tray and bake for 15 minutes*.
Cool well before storing in an airtight container.

* check every minute after 12 minutes, because the temperatures may vary.

Green Mango Chutney

The maid decided to take a day off, and I had to think of something I could make for dinner which would not have me cursing the world and her fifth cousin for pushing me into the kitchen in the heat. Dosa and chutney was the obvious choice, but I decided to go a bit creative with the chutney and use raw mangoes for the sour taste. It was quite yummylicious, and I am looking forward to finishing the rest off tonight.

1 green mango
1/2 coconut
3 large pods of garlic
1 green chilli
Salt to taste

Method:
Grate the coconut.
Chop the green mango into small pieces (you could peel and then chop, but I was lazy).
Peel the garlic.
Blend the coconut, green mango, garlic and green chilli, with sufficient water, till you get the desired consistency.
Add salt to taste, mix well, and serve with dosas.

Tambdi Bhaji

Red amaranthus leaves have flooded the market this season, and after moving past the veggies for a couple of weeks, I finally gave in to temptation and bought a big bunch today. A quick search of available recipes gave me the idea for what I could make, and I sort of winged my way after that.
Really loved it, but with mustard oil and garlic, what is not to like?

1 big bunch red amaranth leaves
4 large garlic cloves
1 medium onion, chopped
1/3 cup grated coconut
1 green chilli
1/2 tsp haldi powder
2 tbsp mustard oil
water as required
salt as per taste

Method:
Pluck the amaranth leaves with the tender stems, rinse well, chop finely and keep aside.
Chop the onion, garlic and green chilli.
Heat the oil, add chopped onions, garlic and green chillis and saute till onions become transparent.
Add ¼ tsp turmeric powder and stir.
Add the amaranth leaves, stir, add salt and mix well.
Cover with a lid and let the amaranth leaves cook on a low flame. Keep checking at regular intervals to see if the water has dried up- if it has, add some water, and cover again.
After the amaranth leaves are softened and cooked (about 10 minutes), add ⅓ cup grated coconut, stir well, cover, and simmer on a low flame for 2 minutes
Switch off the flame, and evaporate the water, if any is left.
Add salt to taste and mix well. Serve with rotis or with dal-rice

Red Coconut Chutney

Very often, when we eat out, we end up getting a "red" coconut chutney with our dosas and idlis. I always liked it (and had more of it than the regular chutney), but never thought to make it myself. Then, I tasted it in the office canteen, and liked it so much, I got the recipe and tried it out myself. The kids and I all loved it, and even though it is a little tougher than the regular one, I know I will be making it too.

1/2 coconut, grated

1/2 large onion, chopped

4-6 pods garlic, sliced lengthwise

1 medium tomato, chopped

1 red chilli

Salt to taste

1 tsp cooking oil

For tempering

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 sprig curry leaves

A pinch of hing

1 tsp cooking oil

Method:

Heat the oil. Add garlic and onions, and saute till transparent. Add chopped tomatoes, and saute till it turns mushy.

Grind coconut, garlic-onion-tomato mix, red chilli and salt to your desired consistency.

Heat the oil, add the mustard seeds. When they stop spluttering add hing and curry leaves and toss around. Pour over the chutney and mix well.

Serve with piping hot dosas or idlis.

Nutty Wholewheat Triangles

I've been looking for a good recipe for peanut cookies for a while, but the only ones I could find online used peanut butter. While I have nothing against peanut butter, I think they are much better spread on toast than beaten into a batter. Finally, I made up a recipe myself, and was really satisfied with the result.
The triangles are slightly fragile and collapse gently if you squeeze them too hard, but they are absolutely melt in the mouth!!!

1/4 cup roasted peanuts- crushed
1/4 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup sugar- ground coarsely
1 cup wholewheat flour
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp baking powder

Method:
Grind the peanuts and keep aside (I like it fine ground, but you can leave a few chunky pieces too)
Grind the sugar and keep aside
Sieve together the flour, powdered sugar and baking powder.
Add the ground peanuts and desiccated coconut and mix well
Make a depression in the centre, pour in the oil, and knead well.
Grease a baking sheet, and spread the dough evenly across it.
Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.
Place a container with water in the bottom rack, and the cookie tray in the middle rack.
Bake for 10 minutes, take out, and with a sharp knife, make a cut for 16 squares, and further cut each diagonally (32 triangles in all). Return to the oven and bake for a further 5 minutes (checking every minute after 13 minutes, to ensure it doesn't burn).
Remove, let it cook, and break along the cut lines.

Pudina Chicken

I made regular chicken curry for the family, but wanted something different for myself, so attempted this minty curry. I really, really loved it, and might just make it when we have people over for dinner.

500 gms curry cut chicken
1 medium onion, chopped into small pieces
1 tomato chopped
1 green chilli
3 pods garlic
1/2 inch piece chicken
1/2 bunch mint leaves
3 tbsp coconut
1 tsp jeera
2 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

Method:
Heat the oil, splutter jeera, and saute the onions, green chilli, ginger and garlic till the onion turns transparent.
Add the tomatoes and mint, and saute till the tomatoes turn mushy. Add the coconut and stir for 30 seconds.
Grind the masala.
Add chicken, and stir it well so all the pieces are well coated with the ground masala.
Add 1/2 cup water, cover, and let it cook on a low flame for 30 minutes till done.
Serve hot.

Coconut ladoo

When I was making the kozakattai, my younger one came up to me and told me that he really loved coconut ladoo. Though there were absolutely no plans to make it, I couldn't really disappoint my finicky eater, so whipped this up. It is partially based on the coconut-jaggary ladoo I made a couple of years back, but uses sugar instead of jaggary.

1 litre milk
1/2 cup sugar (more or less to taste)
1/2 coconut grated
a pinch nutmeg powder


Method:
Bring the milk to a boil, reduce the flame and let it reduce to about 75% of original volume.
Add sugar and grated coconut, and keep reducing till the mixture comes together, and leaves the walls of the vessel.
Add nutmeg and mix well. Turn off the flame, and let it cool down partially.
Take partially cooled mixture, grease the palms, and fold into ladoos.

Fried Modak

Ganesh Chaturti is always synonumous with the regular kozakottai for me, but over the last few years, I have been seeing lots of pictures of fried modak, and was tempted to give it a try. It is much easier to make than kozakottai, and I am definitely making it again soon.

1 cup scraped coconut
1/2 cup jaggery grated
1 tsp til( sesame seed )
1 tsp khaskhas
2 pinches of cardamom powder
3 tsp pure ghee
1 cup wheat flour Oil for deep frying

Method:
Dry roast the til and khaskhas .
In a bowl mix scraped coconut jaggery, cardamom powder, til and khaskhasTake a pan heat 2 tsps of ghee and add this mix until the jaggery gets dissolved , keep mixing it with a spoon to avoid the burnt taste .
Knead wheat flour with remaining ghee and water .
Roll puris of 1.5" diameter and place the cooled stuffing at the centre and give the shape of modak . Deep fry till they turn wheat brown in colour

Kozakottai

The first time I made kozakottai, it came out really well. The next time, it was an unmitigated disaster. So it was with trepidation that I even took on the challenge this year. As it is, I was slightly rushed because I had to go to work in the morning, but once I started grating the coconut everything fell into place.
I followed a slightly different recipe this time, and it came out really well.

1 cup rice flour
1.5 cups water
¼ tsp oil or ghee
a pinch of salt

For the inner sweet filling:

1 cup fresh grated coconut
¾ cup powdered or grated jaggery (slightly less would be better)
3 to 4 cardamoms, powdered in a mortar-pestle, about ¼ tsp cardamom powder
a pinch of nutmeg powder or grated numeg
½ tsp poppy seeds
½ tsp ghee or oil

Method:
For the filling:
Heat ghee in a pan. add poppy seeds, cardamom powder and nutmeg powder. saute for a minute.
Add grated fresh coconut and powdered/grated jaggery, mix well and cook this coconut-jaggery mixture on a low flame. Keep stirring till the jaggery melts, but do not overcook, because it will then harden. Keep this coconut-jaggery filling aside.

Making the outer cover:Heat the water, with salt and oil, and let it come to a boil.
Reduce the flame and add the rice flour gradually. quickly stir and mix the flour with the water. Keep stirring till all the rice flour is mixed with the water.
Switch off the flame. remove the pan from the stove top and then cover this pan with a lid for 4 to 5 minutes. Knead the dough well for a few minutes.
Make small balls from the dough, so they are smooth in appearance and don't have any cracks.
Grease the steamer well.
Take a ball and flatten it with your fingers to a round disc or a shallow bowl shape. you can apply ghee/oil in your palms, while flattening. Place the filling in the centre
Press the edges together and shape into the traditional shape. Place on the steamer and repeat with the other balls.
Place the steamer on the water, cover, and let it steam for 10 to 15 minutes till done

Coconut-groundnut chutney

I am always on the lookout for new chutneys to try out, and when I saw the recipe for groundnut-coconut chutney, I knew would be trying it out sooner or later. It was one of the easiest chutneys to make, and tasted amazing too.

½ cup freshly grated coconut
3 tbsp Roasted groundnuts
2 tbsp roasted chana dal
1 green chillie
2-3 Garlic cloves
Salt to taste
Water as required

For the tempering:1 tbsp oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds (rai/sarson)
A pinch of Asafetida (hing)
9-10 Curry leaves (kadipatta)

Method:
Heat the oil, add mustard seeds and wait for it to crackle. Now add the curry leaves and turn off the flame. Add the hing and mix nicely. Keep it aside to cool.
In a mixer grinder add the groundnuts and chana dal and grind it first to form a powder.
Now add the coconut, green chilli, garlic cloves, salt to taste and grind it. Add water as required.
Now add the ready chutney in the tempering. Mix it well and serve.